I’ve answered a few questions on Jeff’s site over the last few months. Here’s a summary of those responses.

Question: How can I become a Product Manager without any experience?

“…There is no well defined path to becoming a PM in a technology company. Technology PMs need domain knowledge, need a good technical background, and need to be able to drive a product through from conception to completion and into the market. It is a multi-disciplinary role, and one that can be both quite frustrating and very rewarding at the same time.”

Question: How do you manage product ownership with the technology organization?

“…To get the most out of the creative talents of that team, involve them in the requirements definition phase. See what ideas they have that align with the business objectives that need to be met and decide from that input, what makes sense to prioritize.”

Question: What is the best way to design a questionnaire/survey to get customer feedback? How do we know that we have the right questions and are getting the right answers?

Two questions here. When designing a questionnaire/survey, focus on the objectives and use those to guide you in the type, length and content of the survey. To get the right answers, simply ask the right questions. 🙂 Don’t know if you have the right questions? Test the survey with a small sample of the target audience and use that information to refine what you have.